November 19, 2012

"I would have never ended it like that!"
How many times have you finished reading a novel and thought those words to yourself...or said them out loud? I know I have! And now that you are good and warmed up having written, poems, plays, short stories and other various writing genres, it is time to try your hands at the novel! Now don't panic; I'm not talking about writing the next great American novel...but just a chapter! For this next assignment, I want you to take today and brainstorm. Use any of the various summary websites of your choice (sparknotes, bookrags, schmoop, cummings, etc.) to refresh your memory of any the novels you may have read in school. Or, you may decide to use a novel that you have read on your own.Try to recall or research as much as you can about the ending of the novel. Did you like it? How would you have ended it? What would you change? Of course, you do have to stay consistent with the major elements of the plot (characters, setting, characterization, etc.) but you should change the ending as much as you can so that the reader will have a different reaction to the work. This is a great assignment, and it works best if you choose a work that you have read in school (you may go back as far as the eight grade) so that most of your classmates will be familiar with the elements of your chosen work. Please limit your papers to one chapter. Anywhere between 4-6 pages should do it.
Good luck and have fun!!

What in the world is Ekphrasis???

What inspires you? Have you ever been so inspired by a work of art, be it a painting or a photograph, that you just had to write about it? Well, essentially, that is what is meant by Ekphrasis.

 According to Wikipedia, "Ekphrasis or ecphrasis is the graphic, often dramatic, description of a visual work of art. In ancient times it referred to a description of any thing, person, or experience. The word comes from the Greek ek and phrasis, 'out' and 'speak' respectively, verb ekphrazein, to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name...Ekphrasis has been considered generally to be a rhetorical device in which one medium of art tries to relate to another medium by defining and describing its essence and form, and in doing so, relate more directly to the audience, through its illuminative liveliness. A descriptive work of prose or poetry, a film, or even a photograph may thus highlight through its rhetorical vividness what is happening, or what is shown in, say, any of the visual arts, and in doing so, may enhance the original art and so take on a life of its own through its brilliant description."

To prepare for your next assignment, visit the website at the link below.  Take a look at some of the poems that have been written about various works of art. Choose a few, look at the works of art and read the poems. Do the poems make more sense after viewing the image??

http://www.english.emory.edu/classes/paintings&poems/titlepage.html

For a look at the different forms of poetry, some of which are described on your handout, click the link below, find the style of poem you would like to look at, then click on that style for samples.
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/197

Let's get inspired!!
As a prewrite for our next assignment, it is important to get in touch with our "artistic self." What do I mean by that?
Browse the following web-site :

http://www.metmuseum.org/

Type in anything you like in the search bar: paintings, photographs, prints, etc.

Choose ONLY ONE...this will take you a while to decide!

Then, work on the  pre-writing handout you received in class.

HAVE FUN!

Writers Notebook Entry #2

  Be an imaginary visual stalker!

Imagine you are sitting in a restaurant, bar, airport, or coffee shop for a while. Describe one or two people who are sitting or walking around. Get very descriptive in the writing, explaining what they are wearing, how they wear their hair, what their features look like, etc...the sky is the limit!
Now, go a bit beyond. If someone’s wearing headphones, what is are they listening to? Are they learning Spanish on tape, listening to romantic classical music, or maybe listening to a lecture from MIT? What are they thinking about, and where are they going? This is the type of exercise that can quickly morph into a story!

Writer's Notebook Entry #1...

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."                          --Ernest Hemingway

Why do you write? What does writing do for you? Does something in particular inspire you to write? How do you feel after you have written something that you are proud of?

Welcome to Creative Writing I & II 2012!!

To all aspiring writers, or those of you who just enjoy exercise in the written word, let's get started! First, review the COURSE SYLLABUS so that you are familiar with the course requirements. This blog will be our major source of communication, so visit it often!  As you can see, basically, there are two types of assignments for the first quarter:

Two weekly entries in your "Writer's Notebook"
 
One additional writing assignment per week

Writers Notebook
Each week there will be a post from me on the class blog. Sometimes it will be a topic that is just "food for thought," or it may be and article, poem, video, artistic image, song, etc. Who knows??? You are expected to take it in, digest it, and respond to the topic in a thoughtful way in your writer's notebook. Each response should be approximately one page long. I will read your entries and give credit for each one submitted. These entries will count as 20% of your grade. You will receive a maximum of 5 points for each entry, times 2 entries per week, for a possible total of 10 points per weak for each 10 week quarter.

Writing Assignments
Every two weeks or so, there will be a new writing assignment which you will have approximately two weeks to complete. These should always be typed and handed in on the due date. They are worth a total of 80% of your grade (it is usually 4 pieces worth 20% each).

Supplies
You will need a sturdy folder for your work and handouts.
A flash drive. You do not need a lot of memory, so it may be one you use for other classes.
A black and white "writer's notebook."